1 E ntonces respondió Elifaz temanita, y dijo:

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

2 ¿ Debe responder un sabio con hueca sabiduría y llenarse de viento solano ?

Should a wise man utter such windy knowledge and fill himself with the east wind ?

3 ¿ Debe argumentar con razones inútiles o con palabras sin provecho?

Should he reason with unprofitable talk? Or with speeches with which he can do no good?

4 C iertamente, tú rechazas el temor, e impides la meditación delante de Dios.

Indeed, you are doing away with fear, and you are hindering and diminishing meditation and devotion before God.

5 P orque tu iniquidad enseña a tu boca, y escoges el lenguaje de los astutos.

For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

6 T u propia boca, y no yo, te condena, y tus propios labios testifican contra ti.

Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; yes, your own lips testify against you.

7 ¿ Fuiste tú el primer hombre en nacer, o fuiste dado a luz antes que las colinas ?

Are you the first man that was born ? Or were you created before the hills?

8 ¿ Oyes tú el secreto de Dios, y retienes para ti la sabiduría?

Were you present to hear the secret counsel of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9 ¿ Qué sabes tú que nosotros no sepamos? ¿ Qué entiendes tú que nosotros no entendamos ?

What do you know that we know not? What do you understand that is not equally clear to us?

10 T ambién entre nosotros hay canosos y ancianos de más edad que tu padre.

Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged, older than your father by far.

11 ¿ Te parecen poco los consuelos de Dios, y la palabra hablada a ti con dulzura?

Are God’s consolations too trivial for you? Is there any secret thing (any bosom sin) which you have not given up? were we too gentle toward you to be effective?

12 ¿ Por qué te arrebata el corazón, y por qué centellean tus ojos,

Why does your heart carry you away ? And why do your eyes flash,

13 p ara volver tu espíritu contra Dios y dejar salir de tu boca tales palabras?

That you turn your spirit against God and let words go out of your mouth?

14 ¿ Qué es el hombre para que sea puro, o el nacido de mujer para que sea justo ?

What is man, that he could be pure and clean? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be right and just?

15 H e aquí, Dios no confía en sus santos, y ni los cielos son puros ante sus ojos;

Behold, puts no trust in His holy ones; indeed, the heavens are not clean in His sight—

16 ¡ cuánto menos el hombre, un ser abominable y corrompido, que bebe como agua la iniquidad!

How much less that which is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water?

17 Y o te mostraré, escúchame, y te contaré lo que he visto;

I will show you, hear me; and that which I have seen I will relate,

18 l o que los sabios han dado a conocer, sin ocultar nada de sus padres;

What wise men have not hid but have freely communicated; it was told to them by their fathers,

19 a ellos solos se les dio la tierra, y ningún extranjero pasó entre ellos.

Unto whom alone the land was given, and no stranger intruded or passed among them.

20 T odos sus días el impío se retuerce de dolor, y contados están los años reservados para el tirano.

The wicked man suffers with torment all his days, through all the years that are numbered and laid up for him, the oppressor.

21 R uidos de espanto hay en sus oídos, mientras está en paz, el destructor viene sobre él.

A sound of terrors is in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

22 E l no cree que volverá de las tinieblas, y que está destinado para la espada.

He believes that he will not return out of darkness, and he is waited for by the sword.

23 V aga en busca de pan, diciendo: “¿Dónde está?” Sabe que es inminente el día de las tinieblas.

He wanders abroad for food, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already close upon him.

24 L a ansiedad y la angustia lo aterran, lo dominan como rey dispuesto para el ataque;

Distress and anguish terrify him; they shall prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.

25 p orque él ha extendido su mano contra Dios, y se porta con soberbia contra el Todopoderoso.

Because he has stretched out his hand against God and bids defiance and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty,

26 C orre contra El con cuello erguido, con su escudo macizo;

Running stubbornly against Him with a thickly ornamented shield;

27 p orque ha cubierto su rostro de grosura, se le han hecho pliegues de grasa sobre sus lomos,

Because he has covered his face with his fat, adding layers of fat on his loins,

28 y ha vivido en ciudades desoladas, en casas inhabitables, destinadas a convertirse en ruinas.

And has lived in desolate cities and in houses which no man should inhabit, which were destined to become heaps;

29 N o se enriquecerá, ni sus bienes perdurarán, ni su espiga se inclinará a tierra.

He shall not be rich, neither shall his wealth last, neither shall his produce bend to the earth nor his possessions be extended on the earth.

30 N o escapará de las tinieblas, secará la llama sus renuevos, y por el soplo de su boca desaparecerá.

He shall not depart out of darkness shall consume him as flame consumes a dry tree, and by the blast of His mouth he shall be swept away.

31 Q ue no confíe en la vanidad, engañándose a sí mismo, pues vanidad será su recompensa.

Let him not deceive himself and trust in vanity (emptiness, falseness, and futility), for these shall be his recompense.

32 A ntes de su tiempo se cumplirá, y la hoja de su palmera no reverdecerá.

It shall be accomplished and paid in full while he still lives, and his branch shall not be green.

33 D ejará caer su agraz como la vid, y como el olivo arrojará su flor.

He shall fail to bring his grapes to maturity on the vine and shall cast off blossoms like the olive tree.

34 P orque estéril es la compañía de los impíos, y el fuego consume las tiendas del corrupto.

For the company of the godless shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery (wrong and injustice).

35 C onciben malicia, dan a luz iniquidad, y en su mente traman engaño.

They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, and their inmost soul hatches deceit.